Carton



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CARTON Filed Oct. 1, 1930 INVENTOR 6 41 3 I ,Z'Zrqy FAY/eerman I BY 5722 Q L/ M J1 7 ATTORFZJ.

directly Patented May 3, 1932 UNITED s'rArEs PATENT OFFICE ELROY P.SHERMAN, OF ASHTAIBULA, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE ASHTABULA. 003- RUGATEDBOX COMPANY, OF

ASHTAIBULA, OHIO, A. CORPORATION OF OHIO CARTON 6 Application filedOctober 1, 1930. Serial No. 485,598.

This invention, relating, as indicated, to a carton is more particularlydirected to the provision of a carton adapted especially for theshipment of perishable goods, such as 5 fruit, in a container which willbe as'dight as possible and in which small baskets of fruit can beplaced in tiers with partitions for the support of each tier, althoughthis carton is also adaptable for shipment of fruit packed the like. 7 i

A more detailed object of the invention is to provide a ventilatingmeans for each tier of fruit, said ventilating means comprising flapscut from the side walls of the carton and bent inwardly so that apartition may be supported thereon, the said openings with theirespective flaps serving the triple function of a positioning meansbetween baskets, a partition support and a ventilating opening.Heretofore, wooden crates and in some instances corrugated paper cartonshave been used, but in the case of the former the expense of such cratesadded materially to the cost of the fruit and also necessitated theirreturn shipment. a

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related'ends, said invention,then, consists of the means hereinafter fully described and particularlypointed out in the claims; the annexed drawings and the followingdescription setting forth in detail certain mechanism embodying theinvention, such disclosed means constituting, however, but one ofvarious mechanical forms in which the principle of the invention may beused.

In said annexeddrawings Fig. 1 is a perspective View of a carton i-nopened position with parts broken away; Fig. 2 is a perspectiveview ofthe carton in closed position; Fig. 3 is a partial horizontalsec'tiontaken just below the partition looln'ng down-- wardly; and Fig. 4 1s apartial vertical section.

5 Referring now to the drawings, it will be 11, 12,13 and 10, theportions 11 and 13 fold-' ing over the portions 10 and 12. The cartontherein without the use of baskets or of the carton itself may be madeof corrugated :paper. board, heavy card board or any other similarmaterial, the corrugated paper board being preferred because of itsgreater strength and its resistance to breaking or tearing under themost careless handling conditions. For instance, a corrugated paperboard carton may be dropped upon a hard floor and the carton itself willabsorb most of the shock instead of transmitting it to the containedfruit, such as would happen with a wooden or metallic receptacle. Thesides of the carton have openings cut in. as shown at 24 and 25. Theseopenings maybe cut in such a manner that flaps 21 and 24 result, thesaid flaps being bent inwardly so that the openings may ventilate theinterior of the carton while the upper edge 42 of the' lower flap mayserve as'one of a number of supports for a central horizontal partition30, known in the trade as a pad. If flaps such as 23', 24 are left onthe upper openings, the pad 30 is locked by the upper and'lower flaps sothat it will retain its position if, for example, the carton isinverted. similar opening is cut at 22 resulting in the flap 20 whichalso has a supporting edge 43 and the opposite side 32 hasi openings 15and 16 with flaps of identical construction, one of which is shown at 17Any number of ventilating openings may be provided and not all of theseneed to have the integral flaps, for instance, theend 33 may haveopenings 23 and 24 cut therein and a flat hand hole 26 also out therein.Similarly, at the other end the side 32 has the hand hole 14 and theopenings 44 and shipped is extremely heavy intermediate openings 18 maybe cut in the sides 31 and 34 to admit air and these openings may'have aflap such as shown at 40 in order to further support the pad 30. Asstated before, the invention contemplates the provision of a cartonparticularly suitable for packing fruit these baskets.

4 the baskets so the element, a partition support and a constantventilating means tained in the baskets.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that my improved cartonis especially adapted for shipping fruit at a minimum 0 cost and ofpackage weight and with effi- 'cient protection. Furthermore, it will beseen that when baskets are used the partitions are supported out ofcontact with the fruit which is advantageous in the shipment of a fruit,such as grapes, where the grapes project a substantial distance beyondthe top of the basket.

A still further advantage in the use of my improved carton it will benoted that one operation produces two important results, that is, thecutting of flaps in the sides produces a support for a partition andalso a ventilating means for the carton, thus providing a carton at lowmanufacturing cost.

Other modes of applying the principle of my invention may be employedinstead of the one explained, change being made as regards the mechanismherein disclosed, provided the means stated by any of the followingclaims for *the fruit conor the equivalent of such stated means beemployed. I herefore particularly pointed out and distinctly claim as myinvention.

1. A carton for shipping fruit in small baskets, said carton comprisinga base, sides and top, said sides rising perpendicularly from-said baseand partitions in said carton paralleling said base, cut away in pairsvertically spaced approximately a partition thickness .so as to leaverelatively short vertically-disposed'flaps inte' al at one end with saidsides, said flaps being bent inwardly to serve as cushioning elements toprovide supports forsaid parti tions in upright and inverted positionsof said carton and to provide ventilating open- 2.'A carton for shippingfruit in small baskets, in which the fruit extends above the top of thebaskets, comprising a and top, a partition extending parallel to saidbase, short flaps out out of said sides above and below said partition,said flaps being separated approximately the thickness of a partitionand bent inwardly to -support said partition in upright and invertedpositions of sai-dcarton to retain the baskets and to provideventilation for said fruit.

3. A carton for shipping baskets, in which the fruit extends above thetop of the baskets, comprising a base, sides portions of said sidesbase, sides and top, a partition extendin said base, flaps cut out ofsai and below said partition, separted approximately the thickness of apartition and bent-inwardly to support said partition in upright andinverted positions of said carton and to provide ventilation for saidfruit, said flaps being held at right angles to said sides by saidbaskets.

4. A carton for shipping fruit comprising a box of rectangular form, apartition therein parallel to and spaced between the top and bottom, anupper and lower series of vertically disposed inturned tongues eachflexibly connected at one of its ends to the box sides, the upper edgesof the lower series and the lower edges of the upper series beingverticall spaced approximately the thickness of sai partition andrespectively supportin said partition when the carton is upright an wheninverted.

Signed by me,

parallel to I sides above this 29th day of September,

fruit in small said flaps being

